Natural Resources

"Rising oceans will force millions away from coasts even if global temperature rise remains below 1.5C, analysis finds"

"Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday vigorously defended firing large numbers of Interior Department staff because he said too many work in offices and too few in national parks."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has canceled grant funding to university research teams studying how “forever chemicals” contaminate soil and groundwater, including at least $3 million for two projects specifically looking at contamination on farms."

"Bees and other pollinators have been on the decline for years, and experts blame a combination of factors: insecticides, parasites, disease, climate change and lack of a diverse food supply. A significant part of the human diet comes from plants pollinated by bees — not just honeybees, but hundreds of species of lesser-known wild bees, many of which are endangered."

"Debra Shankland was a kid when the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in 1969. ... Shankland was one of many speakers at the latest listening session led by the EPA as the agency crafts a new definition for the long controversial language “waters of the United States” contained in the Clean Water Act. The interpretation of that phrase, commonly shorthanded as WOTUS, can have massive implications for the health of small streams, remote wetlands, creeks and other waters."

"A vanishing species of whale gave birth to few babies this birthing season, raising alarms among scientists and conservationists who fear the animal could go extinct. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370 and has declined in population in recent years."

"Hanford made the plutonium for US atomic bombs, and its radioactive waste must be dealt with. Enter Elon Musk"

"Satellite imagery shows the worst sites worldwide for oil slicks and methane emissions. Report authors expect pollution will only increase as the Trump administration opens more waters to drilling."

"The destruction of seagrass could derail progress in reining in planet-warming emissions and cost billions in environmental damage."

"JOHANNESBURG - Alongside forests, soil and wetlands, another powerful natural carbon absorber critical to tackling climate change lies hidden beneath the ocean surface: seagrass.

The loss of these underwater meadows, also known as blue carbon, could hobble efforts to tackle climate change, both financially and environmentally, a new study has found.

So what exactly is this marine vegetation, and what else did the research find?

"China’s plans to build a massive hydro project in Tibet have sparked fears about the environmental impacts on the world’s longest and deepest canyon. It has also alarmed neighboring India, which fears that China could hold back or even weaponize river water it depends on."